Paints and coatings can deliver sizeable sustainability benefits to a building project. Peter Howard from Dulux Trade outlines some of the top considerations for specifiers
To meet net zero targets and customer demand for more sustainable building practices, it is important to recognise that sustainability is no longer just a ‘nice to have’ – it is an essential requirement for all projects. As such, there is a need to consider every element of the build, from the building structure itself right down to the finishing, decorative touches.
When considering the environmental impact or benefits of a project, paints and coatings are often overlooked. However, their role is critical to protecting and preserving surfaces which are both key principles for making buildings more sustainable.
The importance of water-based paints
While water-based paint has always been considered better for the environment, historically, the challenge for professionals has been whether this means compromising on quality and durability, causing some to stick to old-fashioned solvent-based products.
However, the industry has transformed water-based paint technology and the products available on the market today will offer the equivalent properties to solvent-based – with the added benefit of lower VOC content. Due to this, water-based products are better for both appliers and occupants as they reduce application time and disruption to the end customer as rooms do not need to be out of action or ventilated for long. This is particularly important for premises with vulnerable occupants such as care homes, hospitals, and schools – as well as projects across the housing, leisure and student accommodation sectors that may have strict deadlines to ensure minimal disruption. As a space gets back to operations much quicker, customers also benefit from cost and time efficiencies.
Think beyond water
While paint manufacturers remain focused on ensuring that their water-based products deliver on colour and appearance, they are also interested in how they can be used to preserve buildings and reduce the need for regular maintenance work that can drive up costs over a building’s life cycle.
As such, specifiers should be considering paints that stand the test of time to meet their client’s longer-term needs. For example, paints with scuff resistance or anti colour-fade technology can make a space look beautiful for a much longer period of time. Also look for solutions that can be easily cleaned, to enable building owners to easily maintain surfaces without the need to re-decorate regularly.
Choose a product that will support your sustainability accreditation
Sustainability is often driven by accreditation schemes such as BREEAM or LEED and, as such, using products with the right certification is key. We provide architects and specifiers with guidance on which of our products will meet accreditation points for their project.
It is also worth bearing in mind that paints and coatings can often be one of the easier things to get accreditation points on. We always recommend considering these elements as early on in a project as possible – but they are also the ideal place to start if you are already mid-way into a build and need to think about other ways to integrate sustainability to get the right level of accreditation.
Supplier collaboration
It is important to work with a supplier you can trust and can work hand-in-hand with. Some suppliers can support all manner of accreditations and data requests – including colour matching and design, technical specification, and meeting accreditations. Some are also able to look at the carbon footprint of a painting project or programme over its lifecycle and provide insight on alternative options to support project managers in making more sustainable decisions.
It is also important to consider how sustainable measures can be taken once the project is complete. For example, many decorative paint merchants offer paint can recycling schemes – and leftover paint can be donated to good causes like Community Repaint, so nothing need go to waste.
Think about the bigger picture
Finally, one aspect of sustainability that it is always important to look at is the bigger picture of the effect of design on occupants. For paints and coatings this means thinking about the decorating process as a whole. Part of doing this with much lower impact, for example, is using colours that will inspire occupants, in addition to ensuring contractors are using long-lasting water-based products, and are making use of can recycling and leftover paint schemes.
Peter Howard is sustainability lead at Dulux Trade